MTR visits Wizard World’s Big Apple Comic Con

As a lifelong comic book reader, I have always enjoyed attending comic conventions and seeing so many great costumes and throwbacks to my childhood. Since I have been doing MTR, we have now covered two very different Comic-Cons. The one we covered last year was geared more towards the mainstream audience and in addition had a huge video game presence. The Big Apple Comic Con on the other hand was centered on what we all know and love and that would be comics. As Andrea and I commuted to the Penn Plaza Pavilion, we started seeing many attendees with their comic gear in tow. From the guy with the Autobot backpack to the myriad of comic and “nerd” culture shirts, we knew that it was going to be a packed event.

We arrived early for Press Registration and there was already a line of excited fans chomping at the bit to meet their favorite film and TV celebs and to check out (and buy) some really cool stuff. The line for attendees was clear around the block by 9 am. I have made it a point to not bring too much money to these events, since the temptations to buy a ton of stuff are always there. After our registration was secured, we decided to head upstairs to get a lay of the land and scout potential areas to rest. A friendly piece of advice for fellow press colleagues or attendees, get into the restrooms before the show really starts as they tend to become chambers of horrors.

The show was starting to open to the public so I took the time to visit a one of the few familiar faces I knew, and that was Tommy Best from Best Comics who was gracious enough to allow us to take pics of some the great pieces he had for sale. One of my favorites was Thanos with Mistress Death, which was a very detailed and very large piece. The feature I did not notice until Tom pointed it out was the light-up Infinity Gauntlet that was Thanos was wearing. Had I not needed to keep my money that would have been a must buy for me. After exchanging pleasantries, we started to get some work done.

One gripe I will state, though no fault of Wizard, is that it was extremely hot and muggy in there and as the day progressed it got hotter and substantially more humid. The combination of heat/ humidity and a lack of hygiene from some event attendees made for an interesting experience to say the least. The venue needs to kick up the AC or improve ventilation since many of the vendors and guests were not fans of the lack of cool air.

Before heading downstairs to photograph some of the celebs that were there, we made our way to Artist Alley where we met so many talented artists that were not only pleasant but discussed at length their current and upcoming projects. Some of the great artists we met were:

David Cortes – You may have seen some of David’s sculptures before, especially if you are a DC fan. One particular piece that got my attention was his upcoming project called “Pugzee” which is a throwback to the old mob flicks I watched growing up. Here is some of David’s work including his Pugzee sculptures, which are incredibly detailed. Check out David’s work at the following sites : invart.com & pugzee.com

As you can see, David has done some very kick ass pieces. I took David’s contact information because the Pugzee concept is original and needs to be brought to the masses.

Heather Kreiter- As I wandered the show floor, I came across Heather’s table and was blown away by the incredible amount of items she had available for her “My Little Demons” series. At first glance, you will see the influence of “My Little Pony” but in looking over her table further, you saw the growth of very cool concept. Heather had coloring books, mini statues, magnets and a ton of other really cool things for sale. Andrea purchased a drawing from this series as it could not be passed up.

Tim Smith – Tim’s work caught my attention because it was based on my favorite game, Street Fighter. I spoke with Tim at length about his art and was super impressed with his style. Tim was a super cool guy and a person who’s art you need to be on the lookout for . Here is the piece I bought from him.

You can check out more of Tim’s work at: TimSmith3.com and also on his Deviant Art page.

Dan Khanna – Dan draws some of the most amazing Transformers art in the game. He was kind enough to autograph this piece I bought from him.

Here are some other photos of Dan and his work as well.

While I can talk about all the other cool stuff I saw and all the cool people I met, I do want to say that it was an honor meeting the legendary Neal Adams who was not only a pleasure to speak to but was kind enough to pose for this pic.

To close out our trip to the Big Apple Comic Con, you know I had to share some of the kick-ass costumes and the five things I learned as well. Let’s start with the costumes.

And finally …….

Top 5 Things I learned from the Big Apple Comic Con

5. Bathrooms are key. Learn their locations as soon you arrive. Think of it as a save point in a game lol.

4. Don’t photograph cosplayers in the bathroom. They get very upset as seen by but not involving yours truly.

3. If you are 300lbs. and have a huge koopa shell of a book bag I hate you!!

2. Spandex is not forgiving. If you don’t have the body for it then don’t wear it.

1. Deodorant seems to be optional.

Overall I had a great time and much like the NY Comic Con, I was extremely tired but it was worth it.

A special thanks to Jerry Milani from Wizard for being so welcoming and a big thank you to all the vendors , artists and cosplayers who let us photograph them.